A newly created community police officer (CPO) position dedicated to downtown Traverse City has officially been filled, with Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board members recently meeting with the new officer to hear his first update on issues facing downtown. Board members also discussed plans for a new pop-up park on West Front Street, concerns from farmers market vendors about the upcoming Ironman race, and updates on a development project underway on State Street.

Jonathan Culver has been selected to serve as the new CPO for downtown, a position that will be jointly funded by the city and DDA. Culver has been with the Traverse City Police Department for two years and previously served as an officer in Las Vegas. In his 9am-7pm downtown shifts, Culver will be tasked with building relationships with downtown business owners and workers, identifying and monitoring issues facing downtown, and proposing solutions to those challenges.

In his first meeting with the DDA board, Culver said initial issues flagged by business owners to him included the downtown homeless population and retail fraud. Among those experiencing homelessness, “there’s a lot of sleeping and drunkenness calls, and loitering and littering,” Culver said. He added enforcement hasn’t been strong on those issues in the past, causing them to worsen over time. “It seems to have been an acceptable behavior in the past, and a lot of catering involved to (the homeless population),” he said. “They are very entitled now, and now I’m trying to recorrect and direct them to another direction.” Culver said citations have been issued and camps cleared out of locations including underneath the Union Street bridge, and said he was also trying to get convenience stores to reduce their alcohol sales to the homeless and connecting individuals who needed medical care to those resources.

Regarding retail fraud, Culver said Traverse City’s “hometown” environment led to retailers leaving valuable items out – including in outside displays – and not having sophisticated surveillance systems for catching shoplifters, issues they could take steps to address going forward. Other issues downtown included bicycle and traffic violations, such as running stop signs or riding on sidewalks, which Culver said he’s begun cracking down on through citations.

Addressing issues of drunkenness outside of downtown bars is also on ongoing issue – one that prompted the DDA and city to create the CPO position in the first place. Culver said tackling that problem would be a “work in progress,” but options could include offering free breath tests outside of bars – with no punishment attached – for people to check themselves before getting behind the wheel, or holding occasional mandatory checkpoints or stings downtown where all drivers would be stopped to crack down on drunk driving.

At the same board meeting, DDA CEO Jean Derenzy said she’s working with property owner Louis Ferris to remove the fencing around his vacant site at 124 West Front Street (pictured) – located next to J&S Hamburg – to create a public “pop-up” park. Derenzy said eliminating the fencing would “help the look and feel of West Front Street, as there’s a new development coming (in across the street) and that beautiful pedestrian bridge.” The property remains for sale, so the city could not install any permanent amenities or infrastructure, but could place removable fixtures like benches to create a park-like atmosphere and provide public access to the Boardman River. Derenzy tells The Ticker she’ll be working on an agreement with Ferris in consultation with City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht to allow for public use of the site and address any potential liability issues that could arise there.

DDA board members also discussed concerns from Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market vendors about the upcoming Ironman event weekend August 24-25. Sixteen vendors sent a letter to DDA board members expressing their frustration that event set-up in their parking lot would disrupt the farmers market during one of the “busiest and most profitable Saturdays of our very short growing season.” Derenzy noted that the farmers market is not actually moving locations, as it does during the National Cherry Festival, but is instead being reconfigured to allow for Ironman set-up in part of the parking lot. The DDA will look to close Cass Street between Grandview Parkway and the bridge and move some vendors into that area. Derenzy said the large number of wellness-focused athletes in town could actually be a boon to vendors, adding that the DDA needs to balance the needs of the market against “all of the events we have and organize for downtown.”

Finally, DDA board members heard an update from developer John Socks of Socks Construction about his newest project slated for 222 State Street next to Covell Funeral Home. The company demolished a former vacant home on the site and is preparing to start construction in the next 4-6 weeks on two buildings that will have a total of 20 residential units and retail space. Socks said the majority of units cost $245,000, noting the project is already sold out – despite the fact on-site parking will not be provided for owners. “If we had to put 20 (parking) spots on that space, we would never fit,” he explained. Derenzy said she knew at least four of the new occupants were young professionals, saying the project would help bring a desired demographic downtown. The DDA and Socks will also explore a partnership to install snowmelt on the property’s sidewalks.